Oct 19 TML: The Dream We Are Still Waiting For

While many are familiar with Hideo Itami, many don’t know the legacy he started in Japan. As a protégé of the late puroresu legend Mitsuharu Misawa and Kenta Kobashi, Itami (then known as KENTA) was arguably the one of the most popular pro wrestlers in Japan. For many fans of puroresu the dream one on one encounter has been KENTA vs Shinsuke Nakamura. In Japan it is not a rare occurrence for NOAH and New Japan to work together and book each other’s talent as they have had a long standing working agreement since 2002.

In the summer of 2013 Pro Wrestling NOAH, then arguably the #2 promotion in Japan booked the closets we’d get to that dream encounter. Nakamura was selected as Marufuji’s partner in a tag match versus his former tag team partner, now rival KENTA and his new partner Takashi Sugiura.

If you’re intrigued and want to know more about KENTA’s legacy in NOAH and the puroresu world Wikipedia is your friend. And as always Thank Me Later.